Do you ever notice that you feel more energized or alert when meeting new people and forming first impressions? Other times, a first meeting will rub you the wrong way and you may feel less attentive. If you've experienced one or both of these, you may wonder: What makes a good first impression? How do you know you want to become friends with someone? What information do we pay attention to when interacting with someone for the first time? Good questions! Neuroscience and psychology researchers wonder about the same things. Here at the Social Neuroscience and Health lab, we study how the brain and the immune system work together to influence our behaviors and experiences. The Friendship Pathways Study is a research project aiming to answer questions about how the brain and immune system communicate when meeting new people and forming friendships.

Have you ever wondered what environmental toxins you are exposed to on a daily basis, and how it might affect your health? The STRIVE study is looking for volunteers who would like to provide blood, urine, and/or saliva, as well as home samples such as soil, dust, and/or water. In this study, we want to learn more about the environmental factors that contribute to advanced liver disease and liver cancer. We are looking for healthy volunteers and people with liver cirrhosis who live in either North Carolina or Georgia to take part.

Do you have a child between 12-14 years of age who is healthy but has some symptoms of anxiety or unexplained nervousness? You may be able to take part in a study with your child to better understand how anxiety develops across adolescence in brain and stress responses. Compensation provided.

Are you interested in advancing scientific knowledge about diabetes and its impact on brain function? We are currently seeking enthusiastic participants for an exciting research study. This is an excellent opportunity for individuals with type 1 or type 2 diabetes as well as those without diabetes to help us learn how connections in the brain may be different in people with diabetes. Compensation provided.

Think you have good reaction time? Would you like to get involved in research? You may be able to participate in a research study for upper extremity reaction time.

Have you ever been diagnosed with metastatic triple negative breast cancer and received 2 or less lines of chemotherapy for your metastatic disease? If so you may be eligible for a trial to evaluate different treatment combination with avelumab for your metastatic breast cancer.

Metabolism is the process your body uses to make energy. The main purpose of this study is to observe the impact of metabolic processes on cognition and behavior.

Participants are asked to come into the lab for a 1.5-hour session. During this session they will complete questionnaires and tasks. Questionnaires will ask about physical and mental health, life experiences, emotions, and cognitive associations. Tasks are designed to measure participants' sensitivity to heartbeat and stomach sensations, as well as socioemotional functioning.

Fuel for Thought: How do sugar and fat affect each other in the brain? Do you ever wonder what happens in your brain when you eat dessert? And why sugary and fatty foods are so appealing? If so, you may eligible to participate in a research study to understand the impact of sugar and fat on the brain!

Did you know that over 250 million persons are affected by Osteoarthritis? It is the leading cause of disability among adults and has no cure. Prevention of OA is preferable to treatment and females are affected at nearly twice the rate as males. If you are a female, at least 50 years of age, overweight, with no or occasional knee pain, you may be able to participate in a research study to find out if a diet and exercise program or a health education program prevent knee OA.